ABSTRACT
The current human rights situation in Iran is shaped and influenced by how the Islamic Republic inherited the sovereignty over the people from the Pahlavi dynasty. Circumstances turned the political system hybrid and rendered Iran a contemporary authoritarian regime, causing a surge in ambiguous and dichotomous rules and regulations. This chapter delineates this transition at the revolutionary juncture and draws attention to the definition of collectivity (mellat versus ummat)—a play term of the power struggle for the Shah and Khomeini. In 1979, the public gave Khomeini legitimacy unaware of the fact that his promise of a “pure” Islam was based on an invented tradition. This re-traditionalism ushered in concepts such as Westoxication and the use of media for the promotion of antagonism toward the “enemy” both within and without the country. The media, in particular, has been the regime’s ideal tool to disseminate its ideological hegemony, which has, to its dismay, caused a certain backlash in the form of counter-hegemony.
